Rare twangster Posted June 5 Author #951 Share Posted June 5 Just now, dstein said: Royal is quite consistent with wine pricing. I once spent time comparing their wine list to prices at Total Wine. (TW is a chain of liquor superstores in 28 US states, and they are particularly well-represented in the SF Bay Area, where I have a choice of several stores of 20K+ sqft in easy driving distance. Their selection is HUGE and pricing is excellent compared to other places.) Royal charge the full bottle price for a glass, and 2x the bottle price for a "sale". In other words, if bottle X is selling for $20 at Total Wine then the per glass price onboard will be $20 and the sale price for the whole bottle will be $40. I am too familiar with Total Wine. Way too familiar. 🙂 Royal is not a retail outlet for any beverages. Neither is a typical hotel or bar in the US. No one should expect Total Wine retail prices in a hotel, bar or on a cruise ship. BTW - Costco in Florida has the best prices for wine, beer and liquor. Makes duty free on board a joke. Often Costco in FL makes Total Wine not the cheapest. Costco doesn't have the variety of Total Wine, but it's not terrible. When they have Scotch on sale, wow. I've paid some super low prices on nice Scotch at Costco. But I digress. The "sale" prices for a bottle of wine today that you could take back to your cabin and open that second is not something I've seen too often on a Royal ship. YMMV. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstein Posted June 5 #952 Share Posted June 5 Some of the Kirkland branded spirits at Costco are surprisingly good. Their Irish Cream (the 17% ABV version you can get in states where Costco can sell the full range of liquor, not the lower ABV value "wine-based" product) and their French Vodka, in particular, are both VERY good. I'm not a bourbon/scotch/whiskey type so can't offer personal opinions there, but I know that reviewers like a subset of those options from Costco (but couldn't say which ones they do/don't tend to like). Totally agree re: pricing expectations of a restaurant vs retail. Most land-based restaurants typically mark up wine by about 2-3x (vs Royal's 5x). But I don't begrudge them their ability to do this. If I want a glass of wine onboard I may roll my eyes at the price, but I don't let it get in the way of my enjoyment if a glass of wine is called for! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jomykje Posted June 5 #953 Share Posted June 5 6 hours ago, Hoopster95 said: AAAAAAAAGH!!!! twang… are you attending? I need proof that I actually did this 🥶😉 Thank you for the picture. I think I will skip this part on our Arctic Circle cruise in August 🥶 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted June 5 Author #954 Share Posted June 5 Great news... if you're a duck. It's raining outside. Better at sea compared to in port. Considering what a beautiful sea day this has been, I'll take some rain. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted June 5 Author #955 Share Posted June 5 Day 8 cruise compass has been pushed up. JW May 30 day 8 cruisecompass.pdf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare island lady Posted June 5 #956 Share Posted June 5 4 hours ago, dstein said: Royal is quite consistent with wine pricing. I once spent time comparing their wine list to prices at Total Wine. (TW is a chain of liquor superstores in 28 US states, and they are particularly well-represented in the SF Bay Area, where I have a choice of several stores of 20K+ sqft in easy driving distance. Their selection is HUGE and pricing is excellent compared to other places.) Royal charge the full bottle price for a glass, and 2x the bottle price for a "sale". In other words, if bottle X is selling for $20 at Total Wine then the per glass price onboard will be $20 and the sale price for the whole bottle will be $40. Spent 12 years in the wine business selling wines, training staff, designing wine lists to restaurants. Common for higher end restaurants was 3-3.5 mark up on a bottle. Small restaurants...more like 2.5 t0 3. Wine sold by the glass was the real money maker for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreasfcb Posted June 5 #957 Share Posted June 5 6 hours ago, RFerrington said: There is definitely an acquired skill with the paper laundry bag. The trick is to gently shove (I realize that’s an oxymoron) some smaller items (think, socks) into the corners of the bag before you gently shove the bigger stuff in. Rolling the clothes is helpful. Don’t worry about trying to “close” the bag. Just leave it open at the top. The room attendants throw the paper bag inside of a larger plastic bag (my experience, anyway) so it gets secured in the end. Trust me, I have hopelessly ripped plenty of them over the years. I now filch extra bags from off the attendants’ carts (a huge no-no….I am aware) whenever the opportunity presents itself. I am a master of the paper laundry bag…😂😜. 21 items is my current record. Rookie numbers. I fit 7 socks, 7 shorts, 7 shirts and a pullover in it. Wasn’t even completely full. 😬 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreasfcb Posted June 5 #958 Share Posted June 5 (edited) That passage from Honningsvag was seriously amazing. We saw a large count of porpoises and even Orcas. The latter is rather rare in that area, they usually prefer to stay around the Tromsø fjords more South. Edited June 5 by andreasfcb 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiszBug Posted June 5 #959 Share Posted June 5 12 hours ago, twangster said: A couple of days ago the Wash & Fold laundry bag appeared. This is now also the Crown and Anchor laundry perk bag. The CAS deal used to be a plastic bag that you could cram creatively. That’s a lot harder to do with a paper bag, it tears easily. Hmmm. Maybe bring plastic shopping bags to cram and insert into the paper bag? I guess that defeats the reduce plastics on board movement. Thoughts? I can put a ton in those paper bags! You fold your clothes flat. Put the big items in first. Slide the smaller items in next. Take it to the top and either staple or tape. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theorbo Posted June 6 #960 Share Posted June 6 Great review so far, thanks for sharing your time, photos, and experiences! We are on the July 5 sailing ... * Are other HDMI inputs available to use on the stateroom TVs? * How has the Thermal Spa been, if you have experienced it this trip? I cannot remember if CAS members get an in-port visit for free but maybe I'm confusing that with X's Persian Garden access? * Where in the WJ can you get the one daily "free" espresso based drink rather than going to Cafe Latte-tudes? Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted June 6 Author #961 Share Posted June 6 43 minutes ago, theorbo said: Great review so far, thanks for sharing your time, photos, and experiences! We are on the July 5 sailing ... * Are other HDMI inputs available to use on the stateroom TVs? * How has the Thermal Spa been, if you have experienced it this trip? I cannot remember if CAS members get an in-port visit for free but maybe I'm confusing that with X's Persian Garden access? * Where in the WJ can you get the one daily "free" espresso based drink rather than going to Cafe Latte-tudes? Thank you! HDMI inputs are available. OEM remotes have a source button on them. I haven't been to the spa. I am not aware of any Royal ship offering free espresso based drinks. Diamond and above members in the CAS have access to a machine in the lounge. On this sailing and the previous sailing there have been large enough numbers of Diamond and above so that one free specialty coffee drink from Latte-Tudes has been included. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted June 6 Author #962 Share Posted June 6 Day Eight - Alesund, Norway With our passing below the Arctic Circle the concept of sunset and sunrise has returned. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted June 6 Author #963 Share Posted June 6 Today's excursion, Sugarlump Mountain Hike. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jomykje Posted June 6 #964 Share Posted June 6 1 hour ago, theorbo said: * How has the Thermal Spa been, if you have experienced it this trip? I cannot remember if CAS members get an in-port visit for free but maybe I'm confusing that with X's Persian Garden access? Thank you! We were on the Jewel last year and they have a free sauna and steam room. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted June 6 #965 Share Posted June 6 4 hours ago, theorbo said: Where in the WJ can you get the one daily "free" espresso based drink rather than going to Cafe Latte-tudes? The small bar there (facing aft) also has the machine to make such coffees. Any modification from a "regular" coffee will likely lead to use of D voucher instead. The free drink may be offered on sailings 12 days and longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopster95 Posted June 6 #966 Share Posted June 6 (edited) Good morning everyone… entering the channel to Alesund IMG_4146.mov Edited June 6 by Hoopster95 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopster95 Posted June 6 #967 Share Posted June 6 (edited) And from the helipad which they just opened a few minutes ago…. And it’s starting to rain … and it’s COLD 🥶 IMG_4151.mov IMG_4153.mov IMG_4155.mov Edited June 6 by Hoopster95 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopster95 Posted June 6 #968 Share Posted June 6 (edited) Approaching…. IMG_4168.mov Edited June 6 by Hoopster95 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopster95 Posted June 6 #969 Share Posted June 6 (edited) We’re here folks… beautiful sail-in. The ship is spinning now as we’ll be backing in to the pier. IMG_4182.mov Edited June 6 by Hoopster95 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopster95 Posted June 6 #970 Share Posted June 6 (edited) Video of Jewel Spinning…photos from deck 5 port and aft. IMG_4184.mov Edited June 6 by Hoopster95 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted June 6 Author #971 Share Posted June 6 20240606_100523.mp4 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopster95 Posted June 6 #972 Share Posted June 6 (edited) We’re here!!! Ciao for now Edited June 6 by Hoopster95 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted June 6 Author #973 Share Posted June 6 Shore power rig 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted June 6 #974 Share Posted June 6 We love Alesund , have a great day . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted June 6 Author #975 Share Posted June 6 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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